Messages - CallerID

Thank you Rob - that is helpful information. I hadn't realized the difference between P/T and F/T.

I actually took the LSAT (I scored in the 88th %ile rather than the 83rd I got this time) and applied to law school back around 1994-95. I was on the fence about the whole thing though, I only applied to Harvard (thought I had a puncher's chance to get in) and UMiami. Predictably, I got turned down from Harvard, but I got a 3/4 ride offer from Miami. Ended up not matriculating, obviously.

What about the public service track, would that expand my financial aid options?

Hello all, I just signed up for this board and I could use some advice.

I am 39, single/no kids, and considering law school. I got a 161 on the LSAT earlier this year. I graduated from Rutgers in 1992 with a 3.5 GPA. I have been working in financial journalism and research for the past 13 years.

I am not necessarily interested in going to the best possible school because if and when I graduate in my early 40s, I won't be looking for the highest-paying job and a partner track at a top firm. My interest is in some type of government or public interest law.

I am willing and able to go a few years without making money and then take a job that would pay $60-$75K or the like, which not much for a lawyer in the NYC area. But while I am far from rich, I do have some assets and I would not be considered needy in the eyes of LS financial aid administrators. I do not want to deplete these assets to pay for law school, only to graduate and then not make much money.

In other words, I am willing to forgo income for a few years and then get a modest-paying job, but I am not willing to forgo income AND deplete my assets and then get a modest-paying job.

So my question is, what are my options? Are my credentials enough to get me a big package from a decent (say, top 50) school? If not, would I be able to go to a decent school on a free ride (or close to it), through some type of public interest track?